The key objective of every census is to count every person (man, woman, child) resident in the country on census night, and also collect information on assorted demographic (sex, age, marital status, citizenship) and socio-economic (education/qualifications; labour force and economic activity) information, as well as data pertinent to household and housing characteristics. This count provides a complete picture of the population make-up in each village and town, of each island and region, thus allowing for an assessment of demographic change over time.
The 1996 Tokelau Census of Population and Dwellings, like the previous censuses, was conducted to provide the administration, planners and policy-makers with up-to-date statistical information on demographic and socio-economic developments. This data is needed for planning purposes, and to evaluate the success and failure of programmes and projects. The 1996 census was conductedaccording to the Tokelau Census Regulations, 1961. These regulations require a census to be carried out every five years. The previous censues was conducted in 1991.
The 2001 census enumerated both de-facto and de-jure populations. It was intended that all information would be collected during an enumeration period of one week, the week from 11th October 2001. Census night for individual households was the night of 11 October 2001. Given the transport difficulties between Apia and Tokelau, and within Tokelau, and in order to restrict the enumeration period to less than one week, 9 interviewers were involved.
The 2006 Census of Tokelau was conducted on the 19th of October 2006, by both local representatives and Statistics New Zealand staff. Significant planning went into both the collection and output phases of the 2006 Census
– with consultation on various aspects of the census (for example, questionnaire content consultation) carried out in Tokelau, Samoa and New Zealand, where appropriate. The 2006 Census questionnaire was based on a
standard form developed by the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), with some changes as appropriate to the Tokelau situation.